Potential for restoration on the Hermitage Stream, Hampshire

Ilse Steyl  (Arup - ilse.steyl@arup.com)

Sally German  (Arup)

Proceedings paper from the 10th Annual River Restoration Centre Network Conference, 1st - 2nd April 2009

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Abstract

The Hermitage Stream in Havant, Hampshire, has been heavily modified during the last 100 years to accommodate the extensive urbanisation of housing estates after the Second World War. This includes a series of flood alleviation schemes, including initial straightening of the channel course during 1952-1953 and 1961-1967 as part of the Hermitage Stream Major Improvement Works, and subsequent straightening, concreting and dropping of bed levels during 1971-1975 under the Hermitage Stream Flood Alleviation Scheme.

During 1999, the Hermitage Stream Rehabilitation Project undertook restoration work on a section of the stream, wherein the channel width was narrowed and coarse gravels were introduced to the bed, allowing for creation of bar features.

During the summer and autumn of 2008, geomorphological surveys, River Habitat Surveys and invertebrate surveys were undertaken on the Hermitage Stream and its tributaries to update the baseline information from 1999 as part of the collection of baseline data for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a proposed winter storage reservoir for Portsmouth Water.

Keywords

geomorphology; Hermitage Stream; macro-invertebrates; river habitat surveys; river restoration